Black Dice are some of most creative electronic musicians out there and the gear they use is very important in the creation of their unique brand of experimental music. Their sound relies primarily on sampled sounds and extensive use of effects pedals. Aaron uses an Akai MPC sampler augmented by various effects pedals including a Boss PS-5 pitch shifter. Bjorn uses a custom-made sequencer/filter built into a case emblazoned with the band’s initials which he then runs through an Electro Harmonix Poly Chorus. For his guitar, he uses a Gibson Les Paul put through a Boss DD-5 delay, a PS-5 pitch shifter, and a Zvex Wooly Mammoth fuzz. Eric uses an 8 track recorder and a mini-disk player put through a Boss PS-5 and a Digitech Synth Wah. Black Dice also acknowledge that they use a lot of bizarre sounds such as those made by broken tape decks or by putting a contact mic on a champagne bucket. They also have a new album out April 7 entitled Repothat you should check out.
Black Dice in the Studio
Black Dice – Glazin’
Black Dice – Chicken Shit
Owen Ashworth, better known as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, has one of the best set-ups I can think of. He uses a wide array of battery-powered keyboards to make his heartwarming electro pop songs. For those of you not familiar with Casiotone keyboards I’ll give you a rundown of the basic features of most of them. Their super-cheap, often have cheesy drum machine beats that can be used, and they can make you feel like you’re playing the Legend of Zelda on your Super Nintendo. The Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard is one of Owen’s particular favorites. This small keyboard allows you to sample a short loop with an internal microphone and then play it with the keys. It’s soooooooooo lo-fi. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone are playing a free, all ages show at Ms. Bea’s tomorrow night at SXSW. If you’re in Austin you should check it out and of course check out FMLY’s shows the 19th and 20th at HiLo as well.
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone- The Subway Home
Dan Deacon’s gear is all a blur of electronics and fluorescent tape. He sets this mess on a table and places it in the middle of a rowdy crowd and soon fun ensues. I thought today I would take a more in-depth look at his colorful set up. Let’s start with his Casiotone keyboard for all those lovely, cheesy 80s synth tones. Note the two rack units at the top of the picture. The top one is a “function generator” which generates sine and square waves waves which he then runs through a Digitech Whammy pitch shifter, a Boss DD-3 Delay, and a Mood RIng Modulator. He also uses a vocoder and runs his voice through the effects pedals. Finally he attaches his Ipod to a banana for,well, its great tone.
Video About Dan Deacons Gear
I have an unhealthy fascination with musical equipment and I often find myself pushing my way to the front of a crowd simply to get a good look at a band’s gear. At a recent HEALTH show on the 26th I did just this and managed to get a pretty good look at their wide array of pedal effects.
The above board is guitarist/vocalist Jake’s. The pedals from top left to bottom right are:
Amp switcher- Used to switch between distorted and clean channels on his amp though I’m pretty sure he usually had it on distortion.
Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man- For the massive delay sounds.
Zvex Tremorama- Stuttering effect heard on “Triceratops”.
Boss Reverb- Adds that metallic sheen on the guitar.
Boss Tuner- For tuning purposes as well as turning the noise on and off. He uses the pedal to cut all sound out at times.
Electro Harmonix POG- Used for all that bizarre atonal octave stuff.
DOD Compressor- Brought up the low end.
Vocal Effects box- For reverb on his voice.
I love Don Caballero. I even affectionately refer to them as Don Cab. And you know part of the reason I love Don Cab so much? The intense looped guitar riffs that build and stack until they are truly beautiful. This effect was created by one guitarist, Ian Williams during the heyday of Don Cab with the help of a little box called a looping pedal. These pedals essentially sample and loop a phrase of what you play on an instrument, be it a guitar, bass, or anything else. Williams uses the Akai Headrush pedal in his new band Battles. Other common looping pedals are the Line 6 DL4 and the Boss RC-20. Bands such as Explosions in the Sky and Russian Circles also make frequent use of these magic boxes to thicken up their sound.
