Guitarjon
Fractal Fanatic
Hi guys,
As some of you may remember I was backstage at the Metallica show at Pinkpop 2014 to check out the guitar rigs and hang out with Chad and Justin, who are the guitar techs for James and Kirk.
To read the story about that day check out this thread if you haven't already: https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/metallica-backstage-pics-and-story.87016/
So I went to the show in Copenhagen on february the third and I got to hang out with @Zaemo again to talk about the rigs and guitars briefly before the show.
Chad was once again very kind to show me (and my brother Tim) the backstage guitar tech areas.
I was very curious how the rigs had evolved since the last time I checked them out.
Everything went by quickly so I can't remember all the exact details.
Maybe Chad will fill in some of the gaps...
They are still using Axe FX's for all of the guitar and bass tones.
In 2014 they were still using 'regular' Axe FX II's but now they are all running Axe FX XL+'s.
For the shows in Copenhagen there weren't any guitar cabinets on stage like on previous tours.
James and Kirk used to have some 4x12 cabs on stage for feedback and stuff but now instead of that they had a couple of 2x12 wedges on the stage for the band to get that speaker 'feel' for feedback when needed.
If I recall correctly, they are currently running one of the Quantum firmwares.
I can't recall which one exactly but they need to have very consistent and stable set-ups so they don't update the firmwares everytime a new on comes out.
Since ultrarez came out they did go back to HQ to re-shoot the IR's of the actual 4x12 ISO cabs.
So they just use speaker simulation all the time.
The old cabs used to be mic'ed with Audio Technica AE 2500's and they basically just wanted to replicate that sound.
I can see why because the old rigs did sound really good and those mics are supposed to have a great big midrange.
James uses the Silver VH4 channel 3 and the recently added USA IIC++ amp model for his rhythm tones.
The IIC++ just worked very well for their tones so when that amp model came back to the Axe FX it made life a little easier for them.
For James' clean tones they are of course using the Jazz 120 amp model.
The presets looked suprisingly basic.
No compressors for the clean tones and just simple amp > cab set-ups for the distorted tones.
Chad was using scenes to turn certain effects on and off for songs that have certain sounds.
Chad hardly ever uses other amp models for James' tones but occasionally he'd switch the clean amp model to a slightly more gritty vintage fender amp for songs like Turn The Page.
I didn't get the chance to talk to Justin (who is the tech for Kirk) this time around but he has a bit more intricate presets running for Kirk.
I believe, but I'm not entirely sure, that for his rhythm tones Justin is using the VH4 and Recto 1 modern models and a Fender amp for the clean tones.
Kirk is still running the Rackmount dunlop wah system, which enables him to have multiple controllers on stage.
I also had a brief chat with Zach, who is the bass tech for Robert.
Zach has been working for the band since a long time, probably since the 80's.
He also is a very cool and nice guy.
I talked to him about the bass tones on the album a bit and stuff like the distorted fuzz tones from the song 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'.
I wish I had more time to talk to him because I think he has a few cool stories to tell.
After checking out the rigs and also some of the guitars we were excorted to the 'Memory Remains' exhibit.
If you buy special premium tickets you get access to this area and I highly recommend it.
I don't want to spoil too much but there are loads of cool items and memorabilia from Metallica's past there to check out.
To name a few: A few classic guitars including an actual bass from Cliff Burton, old handwritten lyric sheets from Master of Puppets and the Justice albums, movie props from the 3D movie and much much more.
There were also actual touring instruments set-up there for people to hold and play.
Chad had some AX8's set up in that area so people could jam on those instruments.
The show itself was very cool and unique.
It was a stressful night for the band and crew because James and another band member were pretty ill.
They almost cancelled the show but decided to carry on anyway.
I have a lot of respect for how the band handled the situation and the crowd got a very cool show!
I'm probably leaving a lot of stuff out but feel free to ask any questions here!
I uploaded a bunch of pics to my Sonic Drive Studio facebook page, so go to www.facebook.com/sonicdrivestudio to check those out.
As some of you may remember I was backstage at the Metallica show at Pinkpop 2014 to check out the guitar rigs and hang out with Chad and Justin, who are the guitar techs for James and Kirk.
To read the story about that day check out this thread if you haven't already: https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/metallica-backstage-pics-and-story.87016/
So I went to the show in Copenhagen on february the third and I got to hang out with @Zaemo again to talk about the rigs and guitars briefly before the show.
Chad was once again very kind to show me (and my brother Tim) the backstage guitar tech areas.
I was very curious how the rigs had evolved since the last time I checked them out.
Everything went by quickly so I can't remember all the exact details.
Maybe Chad will fill in some of the gaps...
They are still using Axe FX's for all of the guitar and bass tones.
In 2014 they were still using 'regular' Axe FX II's but now they are all running Axe FX XL+'s.
For the shows in Copenhagen there weren't any guitar cabinets on stage like on previous tours.
James and Kirk used to have some 4x12 cabs on stage for feedback and stuff but now instead of that they had a couple of 2x12 wedges on the stage for the band to get that speaker 'feel' for feedback when needed.
If I recall correctly, they are currently running one of the Quantum firmwares.
I can't recall which one exactly but they need to have very consistent and stable set-ups so they don't update the firmwares everytime a new on comes out.
Since ultrarez came out they did go back to HQ to re-shoot the IR's of the actual 4x12 ISO cabs.
So they just use speaker simulation all the time.
The old cabs used to be mic'ed with Audio Technica AE 2500's and they basically just wanted to replicate that sound.
I can see why because the old rigs did sound really good and those mics are supposed to have a great big midrange.
James uses the Silver VH4 channel 3 and the recently added USA IIC++ amp model for his rhythm tones.
The IIC++ just worked very well for their tones so when that amp model came back to the Axe FX it made life a little easier for them.
For James' clean tones they are of course using the Jazz 120 amp model.
The presets looked suprisingly basic.
No compressors for the clean tones and just simple amp > cab set-ups for the distorted tones.
Chad was using scenes to turn certain effects on and off for songs that have certain sounds.
Chad hardly ever uses other amp models for James' tones but occasionally he'd switch the clean amp model to a slightly more gritty vintage fender amp for songs like Turn The Page.
I didn't get the chance to talk to Justin (who is the tech for Kirk) this time around but he has a bit more intricate presets running for Kirk.
I believe, but I'm not entirely sure, that for his rhythm tones Justin is using the VH4 and Recto 1 modern models and a Fender amp for the clean tones.
Kirk is still running the Rackmount dunlop wah system, which enables him to have multiple controllers on stage.
I also had a brief chat with Zach, who is the bass tech for Robert.
Zach has been working for the band since a long time, probably since the 80's.
He also is a very cool and nice guy.
I talked to him about the bass tones on the album a bit and stuff like the distorted fuzz tones from the song 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'.
I wish I had more time to talk to him because I think he has a few cool stories to tell.
After checking out the rigs and also some of the guitars we were excorted to the 'Memory Remains' exhibit.
If you buy special premium tickets you get access to this area and I highly recommend it.
I don't want to spoil too much but there are loads of cool items and memorabilia from Metallica's past there to check out.
To name a few: A few classic guitars including an actual bass from Cliff Burton, old handwritten lyric sheets from Master of Puppets and the Justice albums, movie props from the 3D movie and much much more.
There were also actual touring instruments set-up there for people to hold and play.
Chad had some AX8's set up in that area so people could jam on those instruments.
The show itself was very cool and unique.
It was a stressful night for the band and crew because James and another band member were pretty ill.
They almost cancelled the show but decided to carry on anyway.
I have a lot of respect for how the band handled the situation and the crowd got a very cool show!
I'm probably leaving a lot of stuff out but feel free to ask any questions here!
I uploaded a bunch of pics to my Sonic Drive Studio facebook page, so go to www.facebook.com/sonicdrivestudio to check those out.
