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.
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.