Cool Time With Plini, David Maxim Micic, and Nick Johnston

Deadpool_25

Fractal Fanatic
A while ago I bought a ticket to the concert and noticed they were doing master class sessions at each venue. I'm still barely an early intermediate player, but I signed up figuring I could sit quietly in a corner and just soak it in. So I get there and it turns out I'm the only one who signed up for the class at this venue--it was just those three monster players and me lol. I have to admit, it was a little awkward and a bit intimidating, but they were all super cool.

We sat and talked for a little while, then they each gave me a little rig rundown. Nick is using a Mesa TC-50 which is cool because I have one of those at home. Nick's TC-50 is going to an un-mic'd 4x12 on stage and running through the cab clone to FOH. For effects he was using an MXR Carbon Copy (Bright I think?...the lighter green one).

Both Plini and David are using Axe FX units. Plini is running his to a 4x12 cab on stage, powered (IIRC) by a Seymour Duncan Powerstage. The cab is not mic'd; he runs to FOH via a Behringer XR18. Actually, everything on the stage goes through that mixer: all three guitarists' guitar signals, bass, drums, etc. I don't think David was playing through a cab, but it's possible he was playing through the same one Plini was using.

Both Plini and David stressed that they like to keep it simple on the Axe FX. They said it's easy to get caught up in tweaking, but that they very much prefer to just stick to basic settings. David uses a single patch based around the HBE model and relies completely on picking dynamics and his guitar's volume knob to control gain. Plini basically does the same thing but uses both the HBE and BE models. They both sounded absolutely fantastic. I still think that especially in a live setting, if you're going through FOH, it's hard to beat a Fractal. Nick sounded very good too, and his playing is off the charts phenomenal. I will say that in terms of sound quality, the Mesa Cab Clone is no match for the Fractal units (this is not surprising, but figured I'd mention it).

After the rig rundowns we chatted a bit more and then Plini basically forced his guitar into my hands (I tried to decline but he was insistent). He took the drums and I "played" (very loose definition) a bit with David and Nick. That was simultaneously the most embarrassed I've been in years and was also one of the coolest moments I've ever had.

If you have the chance, go see them and I definitely recommend the master class to just ask some questions and such. They are three stellar players and are just genuinely awesome guys.
 
Wow.
I discovered David Maxim Micic a few years back when Bilo 2.0 came out Then Earlier this year he released 'Who bit the moon'
That album is the best I've heard In years. It has hands down the best production I've ever heard. He does't do wanky djent rubbish , it's all in context to strong anthemic melodies that ride through the albums and pop up in different ways throughout. He comes up with these great unique production ideas like the volume dump in one of his solos. The guy is a sonic genius.

Even If it's not your kind of music I urge anyone to just take a listen to hear how good audio can sound.
 
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Wow.
I discovered David Maxim Micic a few years back when Bilo 2.0 came out Then Earlier this year he released 'Who bit the moon'
That album is the best I've heard In years. It has hands down the best production I've ever heard. He does't do wanky djent rubbish , it's all in context to strong anthemic melodies that ride through the albums and pop up in different ways throughout. He comes up with these great unique production ideas like the volume dump in one of his solos. The guy is a sonic genius.

Even If it's not your kind of music I urge anyone to just take a listen to hear how good audio can sound.


Yup, great album. I've been listening to it and lots of Plini almost nonstop.
 
A while ago I bought a ticket to the concert and noticed they were doing master class sessions at each venue. I'm still barely an early intermediate player, but I signed up figuring I could sit quietly in a corner and just soak it in. So I get there and it turns out I'm the only one who signed up for the class at this venue--it was just those three monster players and me lol. I have to admit, it was a little awkward and a bit intimidating, but they were all super cool.

We sat and talked for a little while, then they each gave me a little rig rundown. Nick is using a Mesa TC-50 which is cool because I have one of those at home. Nick's TC-50 is going to an un-mic'd 4x12 on stage and running through the cab clone to FOH. For effects he was using an MXR Carbon Copy (Bright I think?...the lighter green one).

Both Plini and David are using Axe FX units. Plini is running his to a 4x12 cab on stage, powered (IIRC) by a Seymour Duncan Powerstage. The cab is not mic'd; he runs to FOH via a Behringer XR18. Actually, everything on the stage goes through that mixer: all three guitarists' guitar signals, bass, drums, etc. I don't think David was playing through a cab, but it's possible he was playing through the same one Plini was using.

Both Plini and David stressed that they like to keep it simple on the Axe FX. They said it's easy to get caught up in tweaking, but that they very much prefer to just stick to basic settings. David uses a single patch based around the HBE model and relies completely on picking dynamics and his guitar's volume knob to control gain. Plini basically does the same thing but uses both the HBE and BE models. They both sounded absolutely fantastic. I still think that especially in a live setting, if you're going through FOH, it's hard to beat a Fractal. Nick sounded very good too, and his playing is off the charts phenomenal. I will say that in terms of sound quality, the Mesa Cab Clone is no match for the Fractal units (this is not surprising, but figured I'd mention it).

After the rig rundowns we chatted a bit more and then Plini basically forced his guitar into my hands (I tried to decline but he was insistent). He took the drums and I "played" (very loose definition) a bit with David and Nick. That was simultaneously the most embarrassed I've been in years and was also one of the coolest moments I've ever had.

If you have the chance, go see them and I definitely recommend the master class to just ask some questions and such. They are three stellar players and are just genuinely awesome guys.
... and then you woke up! LOL J/K :D
 
Earlier intermediate player here too, Plini has opened up a whole world of new music for me. I never "got" the progressive heavier stuff until Plini, then my ears opened up to so much stuff. And as a guy who's just played primarily blues, rock, and acoustic stuff, damn this technical stuff is hard to attempt to learn and play. But I love it! Awesome that you got to hang with those guys! Thanks for sharing :)
 
A while ago I bought a ticket to the concert and noticed they were doing master class sessions at each venue. I'm still barely an early intermediate player, but I signed up figuring I could sit quietly in a corner and just soak it in. So I get there and it turns out I'm the only one who signed up for the class at this venue--it was just those three monster players and me lol. I have to admit, it was a little awkward and a bit intimidating, but they were all super cool.

We sat and talked for a little while, then they each gave me a little rig rundown. Nick is using a Mesa TC-50 which is cool because I have one of those at home. Nick's TC-50 is going to an un-mic'd 4x12 on stage and running through the cab clone to FOH. For effects he was using an MXR Carbon Copy (Bright I think?...the lighter green one).

Both Plini and David are using Axe FX units. Plini is running his to a 4x12 cab on stage, powered (IIRC) by a Seymour Duncan Powerstage. The cab is not mic'd; he runs to FOH via a Behringer XR18. Actually, everything on the stage goes through that mixer: all three guitarists' guitar signals, bass, drums, etc. I don't think David was playing through a cab, but it's possible he was playing through the same one Plini was using.

Both Plini and David stressed that they like to keep it simple on the Axe FX. They said it's easy to get caught up in tweaking, but that they very much prefer to just stick to basic settings. David uses a single patch based around the HBE model and relies completely on picking dynamics and his guitar's volume knob to control gain. Plini basically does the same thing but uses both the HBE and BE models. They both sounded absolutely fantastic. I still think that especially in a live setting, if you're going through FOH, it's hard to beat a Fractal. Nick sounded very good too, and his playing is off the charts phenomenal. I will say that in terms of sound quality, the Mesa Cab Clone is no match for the Fractal units (this is not surprising, but figured I'd mention it).

After the rig rundowns we chatted a bit more and then Plini basically forced his guitar into my hands (I tried to decline but he was insistent). He took the drums and I "played" (very loose definition) a bit with David and Nick. That was simultaneously the most embarrassed I've been in years and was also one of the coolest moments I've ever had.

If you have the chance, go see them and I definitely recommend the master class to just ask some questions and such. They are three stellar players and are just genuinely awesome guys.


Their live tones were awesome.. Thanks for sharing. I had purchased the masterclass as well but it was my wedding anniversary and I didn't feel right leaving my wife solo so we grabbed dinner and I missed the class but I was really curious about how they ran their setups. Good to know, I'm due for a reprogram session for my live setup. What a fantastic lineup too. It was pretty funny.. while David Maxim was playing Plini and Nick Johnston were standing right next to me watching. I was thinking how funny it was that you could hang out at your own concert without being mobbed. Got to chat with both of them and they're very down to earth.
 
Earlier intermediate player here too, Plini has opened up a whole world of new music for me. I never "got" the progressive heavier stuff until Plini, then my ears opened up to so much stuff. And as a guy who's just played primarily blues, rock, and acoustic stuff, damn this technical stuff is hard to attempt to learn and play. But I love it! Awesome that you got to hang with those guys! Thanks for sharing :)

Yeah, I think I got into AAL first, then discovered Scale the Summit, then Plini, then David Maxim Micic. Plenty of others too. Love the instrumental progressive metal stuff.

I saw Plini with Animals as Leaders and Intervals last year and picked up his tab book which had all the songs from his EPs (didn't have Handmade Cities). I put those books on a bookshelf in my "maybe someday" section lol. This show, I grabbed the same tabs again and they had Handmade Cities so I got that too. This time they were on USB and apparently include the Guitar Pro files as well, though I haven't checked them yet. I'd like to learn Paper Moon before they come back next year. We'll see. :)

Their live tones were awesome.. Thanks for sharing. I had purchased the masterclass as well but it was my wedding anniversary and I didn't feel right leaving my wife solo so we grabbed dinner and I missed the class but I was really curious about how they ran their setups. Good to know, I'm due for a reprogram session for my live setup. What a fantastic lineup too. It was pretty funny.. while David Maxim was playing Plini and Nick Johnston were standing right next to me watching. I was thinking how funny it was that you could hang out at your own concert without being mobbed. Got to chat with both of them and they're very down to earth.

Sorry to hear you missed the class, but happy anniversary. :) They were definitely down to earth and I've been noticing that a lot at smaller venues. Before the show, all three of them walked out front, past the people lined up at the doors, and almost no one even noticed. They walked over and had a friend take a picture in front of the Venue's sign. Was pretty funny. I'm looking around like...does anyone even know that that's them?? The previous week, Scale the Summit and The Fine Constant (Sarah Longfield's live band) was here opening for Marty Friedman and they did the same thing--walked out and hung out around the merch tables and just kind of around the venue listening.
 
So I get there and it turns out I'm the only one who signed up for the class at this venue

Same kinda thing happened to me on Sunday in D.C. with Sithu Aye. There was one other person but he got stuck at work and couldn't make it. One on one session talking about writing for an hour plus. Good time.
 
The previous week, Scale the Summit and The Fine Constant (Sarah Longfield's live band) was here opening for Marty Friedman and they did the same thing--walked out and hung out around the merch tables and just kind of around the venue listening.

Were you at the Baltimore show also?

I saw Plini with Animals as Leaders and Intervals last year

Philadelphia? Plintervals opening for AAL?

Aaron Marshall on an instagram stream mentioned a future Plintervals EP in the works.
 
What a great band. Good guys too.
They're playing in NYC on 9/15. I will try to go.

Here's a photo of the day that Plini and I created the sounds for this tour.
The heavy tone is pretty straightforward, but I don't think he'd mind me telling you that some of his ambient and effect tones are more than "simple".
He's also using an AX8 now for smaller shows/fly-ins.
The tones are direct to FOH plus guitar cabs on stage.
You are correct: that's the Duncan "PowerStage" on the black cab. It's a really nice little amp for your backline cab!
(That red amp in the shot is un-used).

20882335_10155232724094702_8734683854797956652_n.jpg
 
What a great band. Good guys too.
They're playing in NYC on 9/15. I will try to go.

Here's a photo of the day that Plini and I created the sounds for this tour.
The heavy tone is pretty straightforward, but I don't think he'd mind me telling you that some of his ambient and effect tones are more than "simple".
He's also using an AX8 now for smaller shows/fly-ins.
The tones are direct to FOH plus guitar cabs on stage.
You are correct: that's the Duncan "PowerStage" on the black cab. It's a really nice little amp for your backline cab!
(That red amp in the shot is un-used).

View attachment 41664

Awesome Matt! Yeah I mentioned that I was using an FX8 with my TC-50 and he said, "oh awesome! I'm all about the AX8!"

I need his delay blocks. Especially from Paper Moon lol
 
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