Hi all.
My name is The Urge, I am from the band ivy Blue, and I am one of the latest writers for NZBands.Co.Nz.
I'll be talking about a variety of subjects to do with music, gear, lessons on Ivy Blue songs, recording tricks, studios, live shows, so on and so forth. But for today as an introductory thing I'll be taking you through my own rig, to see if this hopefully sparks up any ideas with your own rigs:
THE GUITARIST:
A lot of the tone comes from me myself, and I tend to use a 20 cent coin as my pick. These are really cheap (cheaper than buying picks)- and it gives you more options over how you can make your guitar sound. For example, you can use the flat faces of each coin if you just want a clean sound, and then you can use the rounded edges for the more hardcore stuff (shredding, strumming, more intense soloing, etc). Fingers are also helpful.
THE GUITARS:
At the moment I have 5 different guitars in my rig. They are as follows:
1. Ashton 'Blue Thunder' Startocaster (Yes I name ALL my guitars).
2. A SX Custom 'TGE' Stratocaster based on Ashton's Stratocasters
3. A 'Carlos Blue' Acoustic Guitar
4. An unbranded acoustic guitar named Shelly (I named this after my principal at Elstow).
5. A Makalo 'Green' Ukulele
I am looking at expanding so that I have more variety in my guitars and I can perimeter a bit later, but for now these are my babies and nothing will change it.
THE KEYBOARDS:
I also use a Yamaha PSR-7 Keyboard (vintage) and a Yamaha Organ on some of the band's songs and I do bring these out with me. They are both vintage models and we take very good care of them so the next person to use them will have good-quality instruments.
EFFECTS:
I use a whole bunch of different effects- some more experimental than others- and likewise I use different pedals for different tones. While I am currently replacing most of my stuff, here is a basic list of what normally appears in my rig.
BEHRINGER BLUES OVERDRIVE
A MULTI-EFFECTS PROCESSOR (Until recently, we were using a Nux MG-100 until
this fried on us in the middle of a recording session so we are now looking at a replacement- notably the Digi-tech RP-200, simply because of it's variety of options)
ARIA MP-5 METAL PEDAL (This is very suitable for when you need that bit of crunch that the Overdrive can not give you).
Also of good note is that there is normally some effects built into my amps (we will get to that in a minute)- and using a mix of the amps and the processor gives me my signature delay sound- and it means else baggage on my pedal board.
We do also use a MARSHALL ROCK TECH 6 BAND EQ to get the levels of certain strings to stand out more. This is always left on, and is very minimal.
A SWITCHER PEDAL is also normally included towards the end of my board and this allows me to switch amps when needed (I will discuss those amps shortly)
Also, if needed I will sue my processor as a main mute when switching guitars over.
AMPS:
I use a Roland amp for the organ/keyboard, my Ashton GA10 for the acoustic set, and 2 Fender Mustang II amps for the electric stuff.
The reason for the Mustangs is that I have effects built into them that I already use on the Ivy Blue records and I can use one amp for the quieter stuff and one amp for the louder stuff. it gives me a lot of variety, some of my delays are already built in, and I can access a whole bunch of other cool stuff too.
So there you have it. That is my FULL Ivy Blue rig for now. I will update this list as time goes by- but until the next lip, all the best and happy playing :)
URGE.