any other symphonic prog players here?

[Alan Benjamin]

Greetings,

Being a newcomer to FAS gear and having a little over of two months of experience with my AX8 at this point (unfortunately, largely interrupted due to some urgent family medical issues), I thought it might be a good time to reach out to say hello and see if I can find other players who are using FAS gear in the context of symphonic prog as well. It seems like the majority of folks using FAS gear (and, perhaps, amp-modeling solutions in general) seem to be focused on playing heavier music--much of which I like as well and used to play to a decent extent back through the 1980s--but it would be interesting to share insights with players who are using their FAS solutions in a context more like what I've been doing over the past 30 years or so.

Although it's always hard to describe music with words, (my band) Advent describes our music as "Perhaps a modern equivalent to the symphonic side of classic English progressive-rock groups like Gentle Giant, (early) Genesis, and Procol Harum, but with a little Tubes-style funk and the occasional jazz-rock flourish as well." For those who are interested in hearing the music, our latest album can be streamed here:



With a bit of guidance from some kind folks here on the forum, I've been able to program a basic set of presets to cover the timbres I need for playing through all the live material that's currently in scope for the band's live show (although we're stuck without a bassist right now)--some that sound better than ever and others that still need a bit of improvement--I really want to get a better handle on how to make my AX8 sound optimal for every single application I need and am hoping that other players working in a similar style may be able to share some guidance from their experiences.

Best wishes and thanks for checking out this thread,


Alan

 

[Geezerjohn]

Hey Alan. I used to play and perfom with Supernal Endgame. We did symphonic prog. We were on the 10T label. My work is featured on SE's latest disc, Touch The Sky Vol II. You can Goggle Supernal Endgame or visit the 10T website for some sounds. Always glad to chat with a prog aficionado.

 

[Alan Benjamin]

Hey Alan. I used to play and perfom with Supernal Endgame. We did symphonic prog. We were on the 10T label. My work is featured on SE's latest disc, Touch The Sky Vol II. You can Goggle Supernal Endgame or visit the 10T website for some sounds. Always glad to chat with a prog aficionado.

Hi John,

Thanks for your kind reply. Coincidentally, I'm friends with Rob and (the other) John in SE, although I haven't seen either of them in a while. I've got the band's previous CD (Volume I) and remember very much liking the previews I'd heard from the latest album too--although things have been so crazy that I missed the release of the new one. Look very forward to checking it out soon, though.

When time permits, I'd love to hear a bit of detail about your FAS gear and how you use it in the context of SE.

All the best,


Alan

 

[jefferski]

Hey Alan, I saw you guys at ProgDay when I used to live in Chapel Hill. Love your music!

I don't play much prog these days - my current band is more into funky jams and grooves - and don't have any specific advice for prog other than to say - yes, it's in there and should be pretty easy to dial in what you want, especially as you become more familiar with using it. The Axe pretty much offers whatever sound you could want, plus there are so many things you really can't or wouldn't do with real amps - like amp/cab combos you wouldn't normally use, etc. Don't be afraid to experiment!

And +1 on John's SE music too. Good stuff.

 

[Alan Benjamin]

Hey Alan, I saw you guys at ProgDay when I used to live in Chapel Hill. Love your music!

I don't play much prog these days - my current band is more into funky jams and grooves - and don't have any specific advice for prog other than to say - yes, it's in there and should be pretty easy to dial in what you want, especially as you become more familiar with using it. The Axe pretty much offers whatever sound you could want, plus there are so many things you really can't or wouldn't do with real amps - like amp/cab combos you wouldn't normally use, etc. Don't be afraid to experiment!

And +1 on John's SE music too. Good stuff.

Thanks a lot for the reply, Jeff! (I hope I'm not guessing your name incorrectly.) Very cool to hear that you saw Advent play at ProgDay in 2007 and really appreciate the kind words about our music. (That was only our second gig, by the way.) Did you attend the following year as well by any chance? I look forward to checking out your music soon as well.

All the best and thanks for the advice too,


Alan

 

[jefferski]

Yep, it is Jeff ;-) I think was there in 08, hard to remember. I went to most of them from about '01 (Flower Kings!!) until I moved in 2010. That show was only your 2nd gig? Wow, that's a pretty cool way to start!

And thanks for your interest in our stuff as well. I really should link my own music here instead of the band's covers... ;-)

 

[Alan Benjamin]

Yep, it is Jeff ;-) I think was there in 08, hard to remember. I went to most of them from about '01 (Flower Kings!!) until I moved in 2010. That show was only your 2nd gig? Wow, that's a pretty cool way to start!

And thanks for your interest in our stuff as well. I really should link my own music here instead of the band's covers... ;-)

Hi Jeff,

Very cool to hear that you attended most of the ProgDay festivals during those years. I only attended one time, in 2004, before performing there with Advent (again in 2007). I was fortunate enough to come back in 2008 to play the festival again with Mirthrandir too. Didn't make it back again until after you left, though.

Would love to hear your music too. Please share a link here if you like.

All the best,


Alan

 

[grandinq]

Great question Alan!

Funny I was just listening to Romanitas as it popped up on my iPod shuffle. Great stuff!

I used to play and record more prog, and while I still love listening to it (big fan of GG and an OR member as well, Yes, ELP, Crimson, Banco etc.) I've been playing more of a classic rock style lately.

I always struggled to find a good guitar tone to sit in the mix of a prog song. I only got my Axe in April and I've been meaning to take a stab at a sort of Steve Howe type tone. A song like Close to the Edge has a nice biting trebly tone to it that I'm sure the Axe can pull off. I'd also like to get a Gary Green type tone like he has on the solo of Experience.

 

[Alan Benjamin]

Great question Alan!

Funny I was just listening to Romanitas as it popped up on my iPod shuffle. Great stuff!

I used to play and record more prog, and while I still love listening to it (big fan of GG and an OR member as well, Yes, ELP, Crimson, Banco etc.) I've been playing more of a classic rock style lately.

I always struggled to find a good guitar tone to sit in the mix of a prog song. I only got my Axe in April and I've been meaning to take a stab at a sort of Steve Howe type tone. A song like Close to the Edge has a nice biting trebly tone to it that I'm sure the Axe can pull off. I'd also like to get a Gary Green type tone like he has on the solo of Experience.

Hey Pat!

Very nice seeing you here and thanks very much for the kind words about "Romanitas"! Really appreciate your feedback on the prog-tone front too. It's interesting to hear that you've been having difficulty in finding good guitar tones to fit into a prog mix--and am wondering if that's from a recording standpoint, live, or both. (I've only been focusing on live use thus far, but am also counting on putting my AX8 to good use for future recordings too.)

I think I'm still trying to get a handle on some of the basics of optimizing my EQ to make my (double) Alto TS212 monitoring solution sound as flat as possible, figuring out what cabinets I really like, and learning how to build presets that sound as good in context as they seem to when auditioned in isolation. My tonal palette is definitely atypical, but I'm already starting to see increasing promise in getting to the point where I feel better about most of my tones coming from my AX8 as compared to my old Vox ToneLab SE feeding into a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 setup.

All the best and please keep me posted on your tone-creation efforts,


Alan

 

[Geezerjohn]

Wow! Great to know that there are other Progsters here. Alan, it seems like everyone in the world knows John E and Rob. Those boys do get around.

I played in SE from July 2011 to July 2015. I greatly enjoyed my time in SE. TTS Vol II is way different than Vol I. You can hear most of my work on TTS Vol II. A few songs from Vol I (with my friend Dan Pomeroy) were put on Vol II, but I did most of the work on Vol II.

I used my Fractal gear (originally an Ultra then a FX II) for all of the recording and live performances. I did not use a "real" amp for a single session. I found that the Fractal was a great choice for SE music. When recording, I use my own presets rather than the factory presets, although I did use a few factory presets as a starting point to build my own. Since you are familiar with Endgame, you know that each composition requires multiple patch changes so the Fractal worked very well to perform the music. I set up my Banks on the MFC to correspond with the set list.

When recording, I would dial in a tone that worked for the song, then name the preset and save it so when I played live I could recall the same presets I used to record. A few presets required volume tweaks to work in the context of a live performance so our live work sounded very close to the CD. Frankly, I just don't see why anyone recording and performing original music would use anything but FAS. When playing live, people would always check out my rig and comment on my tones. FAS was always praiseworthy.

For my live rig, I used the FX II output 1 to FOH and output 2 run into the effects return of a Line 6 Flextone II XL. The Flextone was just for a stage monitor. I use a MFC foot controller and a LIne 6 G-90 Relay wireless. For my first few performances with SE I used a truck-load of guitars, but later narrowed it down to only a few. My primary guitar for SE was a Carvin DC-400 with a built in Piezo (for the acoustic work). In the studio I used a variety of electrics, nylon string and steel string acoustics. What the Carvin lacked in tone, it more than made up for in versatility as I could run single coils, humbuckers and the Piezo all on one guitar. I used a lot of different guitars for recording TTS Vol II.

Glad to chat with you. Feel free to PM me if I can provide any assistance or if you want to chat. BTW, where in Jersey are you? I am an old Jersey boy from Westfield.

 

[Alan Benjamin]

Glad to chat with you. Feel free to PM me if I can provide any assistance or if you want to chat. BTW, where in Jersey are you? I am an old Jersey boy from Westfield.

Hi John,

Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback. Look forward to catching up with you in more detail soon.

I'm in Bridgewater (about 30 minutes west of Westfield by car). Used to live in the south end of Scotch Plains, though, which was only 5-10 minutes away from your home town.

All the best,


Alan

 

[Geezerjohn]

Small world. My wife is from Scotch Plains. We used to have a home on Mountain Avenue, down by RT 22. We were close to the Italian American Hall. I used to play there a lot when I was a kid.

Our first house together was in Piscataway. I spent 15 years on the Middlesex Rescue Squad. For a few years I was an extrication instructor. I taught extrication classes for the Bridgewater Rescue Squad. I saw John E at church this morning. He said you and he are facebook pals.

jc