Post-hardcore stars Drop Dead, Gorgeous can be pretty tough on gear
(check out the equipment-destroying video on their Myspace page for evidence).
Here, guitarist Kyle Browning talks about what gear made the
cut in the studio and on tour for their latest offering, The Hot ’n’ Heavy.
—Matt Blackett
A lot of the songs on your latest record have super-intricate rhythm
parts. What gear did you use to get them so tight sounding?
In the studio, I used a Marshall JCM 800, which I think was
modded. I also used a boutique head called Divided by 13. That
head is awesome for some of the cleaner stuff on the record. We
also used a multitude of pedals. We ran through a Tube Screamer
on some parts and all sorts of different delays and other fun pedals.
What kind of tone do you need to make those parts cut through live?
I use a VHT Pittbull and I have it dialed in to where it’s got
more treble and bass and not a lot of mids, because I feel like
the mids cut things out a little bit. My tones are actually pretty
clean—not very overly distorted at all, because tones with too
much distortion kind of get lost in the mix. Jason [Belcher, rhythm
guitar] plays through a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, and his tone
is dirtier. I get the definition from the clean, and he’ll kind of
back me up with the distorted tones.