«
»
Guest Columns, MishaSucks.net/Gear_Geek

LEGACY TOUR DIARY, ENTRY #3: MISHA MANSOOR OF PERIPHERY BATTLE-TESTS HIS NEW LIVE SETUP

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 at 5:00pm by

mishasucks.net/geargeek

As part of our sponsorship of The Legacy Tour, featuring Darkest Hour, Veil of Maya, Periphery and Revocation, one member from each band will be penning an exclusive blog entry for MetalSucks to run during the tour (get a full list of tour dates here). Our first entry featured Veil of Maya guitarist Marc Okubo taking us on a run-through of his entire live rig, and the second entry was an update from Revocation’s Dave Davidson. Here’s Periphery’s Misha Mansoor on his new live rig setup (the idea for which he first mentioned in a prior column) and how that’s working out for him:

So a little while back I posted a column about going direct with the guitars on a future tour, and that tour just so happens to be this tour we are on now with Revocation, Veil Of Maya and Darkest Hour. The idea behind going direct is that instead of having an amp/rig that goes through a cabinet then gets mic’ed up, you just take an audio signal direct to the board and skip the whole cab and mic. This allows for a simpler and cleaner signal chain, as removing the cab, mic and mic-placement variables makes the signal extremely consistent every night. Now we are going direct with our Fractal AxeFX Ultras which is an absolutely phenomenal unit for direct tones.

So far it has been amazing in the live context, at least for the kind of tones we are after in Periphery. I can say that for the first time I feel like I have just the right amount and kind of dynamics in my tone, and perhaps that is because the tones are now so much cleaner and tighter than when we used to run our AxeFX’s through a tube poweramp and cab. Everything is a lot clearer and our soundguy can EQ our guitars to fit the mix in no time since he is getting the same signal every night! On top of that there are now 3 less mics on stage, so there’s less stage bleed which results in a cleaner sound. Also, with the stage sound coming from the monitors and not from cabs facing the vocal mics, there is very little guitar bleeding into the vocal mics.

It definitely takes a little getting used to, and since there is no stage sound other than the monitors (and the Atomic Wedges we’ve been taking on tour with us for stage sound) there is a small learning curve but it’s really not bad at all. On the plus side ,our rigs are now simpler and lighter than ever, and with less gear comes more overall reliability. So far there have been no hiccups.

I have to say that I am so pleased with going direct with the AxeFX that I have a hard time seeing myself go back to a traditional amp/cab rig.  The only thing that really needs a little tweaking is the monitoring. Currently I am using the Atomic Powered Wedges, and I will be trying out the Mackie HD1531 soon, but ultimately the plan will be to use in-ear monitors, and the consistency of the guitar tones will only make setting those up and using them every night easier on our end as well.

So all in all, going direct was a great success, not only for us, but for our soundguy and ultimately the audience as well!

-bulb

Tags: , , , , , ,
  • brookh

    That’s awesome, I can see more bands doing in the near future

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jt-Sofo/558287410 J.t. Sofo

    I’m definitely going to bring this idea up to my band, especially for the fact of consistent tone. This is for sure going to take off as a new idea in a live setting. Although i do see some of the die hard, Head/Cab/Mic people laughing at this.

  • Seb

    I think this type of setup can work great from a profesionnal touring band playing in decent venues with good sound systems… but for the bottom rung band, playing in a shit hole with a barely functioning PA, amps and cabs are still essential and will probably remain so.

    I now Meshuggah also goes direct from their Vetta II’s into the house system.

    I wish i could do that with my band, but I get the impression i would miss having my amp pushing air behind me.

    • Seb

      ‘I *know* meshuggah…”

      Sorry. It’s late.

    • Rena

      Yeah I agree, specially because in rough venues the monitors dont work at all or dont have structure for in ear, so the only way that you can listen to yourself is by your cab…

      Hey Misha would be awesome if you can put an image to explain exactly your chain signal…

  • uLy

    I love how he uses “for the sound we go for” and “dynamics” together. This kids sound is the most sterile, mechanical, tight as a baby’s ass, hence little to no dynamics as they come.

    I love how he continues to promote the Axe FX though as the greatest thing since slice bread even though a lot of the sounds still don’t beat the real amps they try to emulate.

    Listen up Misha whatever the fuck your name is… Trent has been using this type of guitar sound since Broken dropped in the early 90′s.

    But hey, continue to pretend you figured something new out.

    • some_guy

      wow somebody missed the point

      • ittoa666

        Someone sounds like an angry bitch. Take the dildos out of your eyes and go ride NiN’s collective cocks some more. Get the fuck out.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Christoph-Fin/1567502385 Christoph Fin

      You could say the same about Trent ripping off Skinny Puppy left and right in the 90s. Music is a constant evolution and everyone takes ideas from the past and tries to put their own spin on it. Periphery, at the very least, has some originality to them if you bother to listen, which you obviously haven’t if you think the guitar tone sound like Broken-era NiN. You must be one of those people whos new music ears shut off at some point and can no longer accept what you cant label based on your pre-existing bank of musical knowledge. sucks.

      Although I am primarily a bassist, I enjoy reading this blog. Its cool to hear about musicians trying new things with their sound, especially coming directly from the musician himself.

      • Fufkin

        uLy – Aside from your highly opinionated dig at Misha’s tone I’d like to point out that I’ve spoken to a number of successful guitarists that would contradict your opinion about Axe Fx. Players that were surprised that they made the switch to it – but it was too good not to.
        I find myself more inclined to listen to them, but I take it you’ve tested this unit extensively and are not just making the usual sweeping digital Vs valve comments I see time and time again on forums. You have tested it extensively haven’t you?

        • Slaughterhouse

          uLy-I’ve read tons of interviews and seen numerous bands that support/endorse/use the AxeFx. Vai, Petrucci, Loomis, Tosin, list goes on and on. I would do a little more research before you start to question someones tone and its all subjective anyways. Its all based on Opinion and maybe his tone compliments the other guitarists tone. If he has a more wet tone, maybe his counterpart has a more dry tone. Who knows, I haven’t done the research nor have I seen them live so I’m not gonna pretend to know what they sound like but just pointing out some things you might not have thought of

      • uLy

        Trent made no gripe about taking influences from SP in the early days but that wasn’t my point anyway. He isn’t taking things from Trent, he’s just passing off his tone as “dynamic” and hilarious as it is.. “their own”

        everyone knows the kid has major boner rush for meshuggah, which isn’t the most dynamic tone out there to begin with. His tone is sterile and mechanical like many of those early industrial guitar tones were. That was my point.

        • the benthic

          if your not down with meshuggah get the fuck out.

          • uLy

            yes yes i know it’s very “uncool” around the interwebs to not dig Meshuggah to an insane degree… now i dig em but to say they have some type of amazing dynamic tone is just flat out asinine.

        • Justin

          your internet personality persuades me to believe that you an extremely cool guy in real life

          • chris

            lol

  • Major Zim

    haha as a drummer this ALL flew right the fuck over my head but i can completely appreciate someone trying to get the absolute perfect tone and dynamics from their instrument. Periphery is the shit and they all seem like nice guys, i hope things continue well for them.

  • Erik

    I’m all for technology replacing bulky amps. Every gig I play at, the sound engineer asks me to turn the amp so low I might as well be playing a crate practice amp. Then again NO monitors work at any clubs I play at, so that creates a serious problem.

    • Slaughterhouse

      Thats when you turn your amp up mid song lol

  • Joe Simpson

    I’ve started doing the same thing with my GSP1101 (poor mans AxeFX) and I’ve never been happier with my sound!

    It’s really cool that guitarists like Mansoor, Abasi, Thordenda, Hafdahll etc aren’t afraid to experiment outside the boundaries of a Les Paul/Strat into a Marshall half stack, because ultimately it is US that benefit

    \m/

    • Slaughterhouse

      I have a Line 6 X3 Live, I shall try this as well but I am going to run one line to my amp and cap and one direct. See how that works. My bass player does it for his amp and his shit always has no volume issues

  • 0contaminated

    you would think plugging in directly would be good using that new axeefftects or whatever but honestly i dont think you would find those thick low ends but i dont really know i fuck with my four track lol but for real is he trying to rerecord his album at every show? honestly that “periphery” guitar sound makes it seem like its being played in a pipe or a long hatch. its seems to “hollow” or its missing that thick warm grungy feeling of a band. i feel like its a bit of a generic tone even though its prolly not i guess i dont know….

  • builtforsin

    As a tru gear whore I have to say I could never denounce traditional tube amps. And that AxeFX Ultra is over $3000 retail. Currently $2000 on their website.

    That will get you your dream setup.

  • raiseyerfists

    Tone, dynamics, whatever — direct input has NO BALLS man!

  • http://fullmetalattorney.blogspot.com/ Full Metal Attorney

    So, the gear is cool and all, but when are you going to test out a different vocalist? You know, one who doesn’t do that annoying, nasally clean vocal that every radio metalcore vocalist does?

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Brendan-Regino-Snow/514886363 Brendan Regino Snow

      1

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Austin-Sharktopus-Nutter/1418565949 Austin Sharktopus Nutter

        Holy shit I saw that profile pic and I thought it was me from two months ago.

    • orbital

      2

      • hainz

        +3, although i appreciate it that they instantly come up with the instrumental version of their cd :-)

  • Chip Northcutt

    What is the problem with a mic/cab that is being fixed?

  • Austin Nutter

    This all sounds very cool, but I have one problem with it. In some club venues the PA speakers are farther forward than the front of the stage, so already if one wants to hang out at the front the vocals are hard to hear. Now apply that to the whole band minus drums. Maybe it all works together when its all through the PA, but as it stands whenever I hang out front stage to the far left or right I have a hard time hearing vocals because of PA speaker placement.

  • Rudiger

    this dude is going to ruin guitar tone forever. not everyone wants a flat, ball-less guitar sound. Periphery is pretty much a studio band anyway, so i guess this one way they can try to mimic what they did on the record (which is never gonna sound completely right). Also, i saw them play at a shitty venue last year and this absolutely no way that the venue’s sound system would handle going straight in, this method would only work at a place with a legit PA (maybe). I also feel the need to mention their vocalist is terrible live and can’t pull off what a producer was able to accomplish in the studio. ugh, and Misha seems like a controlling douche

    • Matt

      You sir are pretty much right on track with how most of my friends and myself feel. I’ve watched them in the same situation in a venue with a shit pa…… Direct in would sound about as awesome as a 15whatt crate amp.

      Also the general public has spoke. Get a real vocalist.

      • jadedkid

        These guys!!!

        The whole concept of this being a good idea escapes me. I don’t really think this has potential to replace the majority of rigs out there just because of the point discussed earlier that most venue’s PA’s suck or dont function properly. as a bassist who uses a tech21 sans amp in my set up i have a strict rule that i never let the sound guy run me direct from the box or my head. The sound i strive for comes from the combination of the box, amp, and cab i would be so bummed out on my tone if any piece was missing. That, and i hate the feeling that i’m not the one in control of my tone. this is most likely because I dont have the luxury of a personal sound guy and most dudes running PA’s in clubs are ‘tarded.

        • fightingmike

          Yeah, it could make sense for a band like Meshuggah or Periphery, who are very mechanical and don’t have alot of softer stuff going on. I love both bands and i could see how that could work, but you would have to be playing larger venues with really good sound systems for that to ever work. Usually venues in the 500 capacity and up size could handle that, but most venues smaller than that might only have a few monitors overall and couldnt handle the volume you would need for it to replace a real amp. I definitely prefer a tube amp and the range you get with it, but i play alot more varied and alot less tightly wound music. To each it own, but you would have to have an awesome PA and awesome sound guy every night for that setup to work.

  • Matt

    I’ll still stick with the ripping balls sound of a tube amp….

    Axefx cleans=Awesome
    Axefx distortion= sterile, ball-less, lifeless tone

    • jamsea

      *aham* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76S3E-wEgYY
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvKTojs_gaw

      I was 100% on your side until I saw these videos. I sold all my pedals a few weeks ago and am buying an axe fx now

      • Matt

        Take in mind that’s multiple guitar tracks and he’s doctored them up with production. Not saying it sounds bad by any means, but keep that in mind.

        In the studio it’s a cool tool but I’m more referring to live more than anything

        • Matt

          * In the studio it’s a cool tool but I’m referring to live more than anything

  • http://www.twitter.com/jwseveredtwwk Tonberry

    I guarantee that at least half of the people referring to the AxeFX tone as sterile and ball-less are simply regurgitating guitar forum talking points, and don’t know their ass from their elbow when getting their tone. It’s not something that I’d use live, as I’m really happy with the tone I get from my Soldano Avenger, but having worked at a rehearsal studio for nearly 10 years, I see firsthand how everyone thinks that they’re some kind of guitar tone expert, yet almost everyone sounds like shit. Hell, I’ve had self proclaimed “tone whores” ask me why I don’t prefer the “heaviness” of a Metal Zone.

    • Matt

      Listen to some of misha’s work and get back to us on that one. If you try saying the distortion is awesome you probably are the one that prefers a metalzone over a real amp

      • http://www.twitter.com/jwseveredtwwk Tonberry

        >It’s not something that I’d use live

      • http://www.twitter.com/jwseveredtwwk Tonberry

        Also, I totally didn’t mean to single out your post, it wasn’t even there when I was writing mine. Total coincidence.

        • Matt

          I apologize as well since I came off as a dick. The point is (and from what I can tell multiple people also mentioned this in the post) that his tone is so……lifeless

          • http://www.twitter.com/jwseveredtwwk Tonberry

            No hard feelings!

            I can definitely see what’s meant when people refer to his tone as lifeless, although I think that there are far worse culprits with this. My main issue, though, is when people just agree with the usual mantras as opposed to getting their hands dirty with gear and really seeing what they can get out of it.

            A good example is this solid state amp we have at my job, Ampeg VH140C I think. It’s probably one of the best amps I’ve ever heard, puts most of our tube amps to shame, yet so many people refuse to even touch it because they’ve been told that tubes are always better.

    • Type-O-Negative

      my question is can you get feedback from an AxeFX? cause there is nothing better than feeling that nice wash of feedback when you want something to push over the edge. though it gets annoying with all the technical stuff but I find feedback to be essential when making textures.

      • Matt

        You raise a very good point. I’m guessing you would need to emulate feedback….but I’m sure the axefx has got that covered

        • Type-O-Negative

          That would certainly be impressive if it did. Especially since feedback comes from the ongoing loop of the physical soundwaves of your amp vibrating your strings that produces more sound coming from your amp. If they had a digital function that would replicate/manipulate the physical world I’d be damn impressed.

          • Matt

            They can rebuild him…..They have the technology…..They can make him the first bionic man…..HE IS THE 6 MILLION DOLLAR MAN!!!!!…….

            Wait I forgot we were talking about amps…..Yeah doubt they could really do that hahaha.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Punch-McChainsaw/100000274695976 Punch McChainsaw

    Been using a Vetta rig for the last 5 years now, and whenever we get to run direct it’s a blast. No more worrying about feedback or stage volume whatsoever. I had a chance to hear a band running my rig direct at the Brass Mug once in Tampa, and I was ecstatic that the tone coming out of the PA was just like the tone coming out of my cab.

  • Aaron R A

    I’ll stick with my tube amps and enormous selection of boutique pedals I paid way too much for, just as much out of habit as preference. But, on that note, good on Mr. Mansoor for experimenting, regardless of what everyone’s opinions are on your tone before they’ve ever heard it in a live setting.

  • David

    This guy is in a price-point category much higher mine, but I can speak from a little personal experience.

    A friend recently made the switch from JCM2000 to a little ‘champ’ like amp going straight to a PA speaker, and loved it. All his effects sounded killer. Switched to that rig Live for a few months.

    What changed was I ended up getting my hands on an old vintage 50w one channel hand wired tube amp, for a steal. Brought it over, installed new EL34s, plugged it into his vintage cab w/greenbacks, and our jaws dropped.

    Since then, it’s been all about the vintage amps…YBA1′s, MIG 50w’s, VDM’s, Ampegs, even silverface Twins. The pawn shop superstars. Now he plays live through the MIG 50 on the JCM800 channel.

    So I guess I have a couple points:
    1. as a guitarist, your tastes are always going to change
    2. Digital modelers are never going to duplicate the creamy awesome distortions you can get from good tube amps (even the vintage cheap ones).

    In fact, I’ve had a Line 6 for years. Great cleans. Having the ability to A/B with real tube amps has actually showed me how to dial it in better…more like the real thing. But it will never sound like the real thing and will always be a tool more for convenience than optimal sound.

  • Justin Gosnell

    Jesus man some of you people are morons!!!!!

    How can you base what the Axe Fx does or sounds like as a whole based off of one persons sound they’ve dialled in?! I just can’t believe the shit I read that people post online sometimes. Go to your local club any night of the week and you’ll see EVERY SINGLE AMP CREATED BY MAN dialled in to sound like complete fucking shit. Seriously?!?!

    I have an Axe FX and this WAS my last live rig if you think I don’t know about tube amps and all that jazz blah blah blah:

    http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c241/JGDirtyRaw/FINALRIGPIC-1.jpg

    Don’t get me wrong-the Diezel is amazing and so is the JVM but man-you had to get those puppies up to around at least 6 or 7 before they really started to “breathe”. Do you know how loud 7 is on a 180 watt tube amp???? Should I mention the weight of that rig?!

    The Axe Fx is incredible. It can be dialled in an infinite number of ways and can even be customized exactly to infinity and beyond. I currently have my own Impulse Responses loaded into the cabs instead of what it came with and I think it’s incredible. Do you know how many MAJOR studios have switched to recording with the Axe Fx?!? How many that say they’ve found it easier to get an amazing sound of it then having the head it’s emulated plugged in and mic’d up?? You have no idea. I can get HUGE low up and crunch out of it. Devin Townsend, Jeff Loomis, John Petrucci, Marty Friedman, Cynic, etc have ALL made the jump to Axe Fx. Let me guess-you think all of their tone sounds like shit too huh??

    Wake up people. I’m not saying it’s for everyone-I’m saying you have to realize that hearing one persons tone they’ve gotten out of it is not the absolutely only sound the Axe Fx will make. You should search out the Pool Of Life and drink some up for yourself.

    PS for those of you that perhaps weren’t feeling the vocals on the first album just wait until you hear the new songs they have. Spencer has stepped WAY the fuck up and I think everyone will be fucking shocked to hear the new shit. I liked the old stuff but the new stuff is truly mind blowing especially in the vocal department. I think they’re going to definitely win back some of the people that perhaps weren’t feeling the vocals before. Just my opinion of course…

    • Matt

      Yeah and how many of those artists run direct in…..I’m betting most of them still run a tube power amp somewhere in their chain (though I’m sure some don’t either but they play larger venues). I could be wrong but I’m betting heavy devy still uses atleast a tube power amp somewhere along the line when recording……To bad we can’t ask him.

      There is no doubt that the axe-fx could be awesome. I know alot of artist use it on the road and sound good but I just don’t feel that they quite have the “warmth” that you get from tube……

      And this is just my personal opinion but fuck all this going to digital shit anyways. I’m not saying it’s all bad but pretty soon you might as well stay at home because everything is going to be fake live anyways.

      • Matt

        And I’ve seen Spencer live within the past year….Not that impressive.

        Just my opinion as well.

      • Chad Ochocincolol

        I know Cynic goes direct in with their units and they have some of the best live tone out there

        • Matt

          Paul Masvidal know’s what he’s doing. He was in death after all.

    • alex

      tone is all subjective. one person will not like the same shit as another person. thats just common knowledge. i think all the guys you mentioned have shitty tone. it’s not my style. digital is yet to beat an actual miced amp. there is something you get from that that digital modeling cant give you. im not knocking you. you like what you like, but be realistic. it is possible for someone to not give a fuck about the shit you care about. tone to me is pike, hendrix, page, townsend, clapton, kerry king, and so on. there was no digital modeling when cream recorded.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Neil-Forrest-Nalley/1396964302 Neil Forrest Nalley

    Ya this could really work unless your playing small local gigs which if you dont have your own sound guy could lead to problems. If only i hade 2,000 bucks for the axefx he uses.

  • alex

    that sounds like way too boring of a rig.

  • John

    The AxeFX is great for what Periphery are doing, and it would be great for a multitude of other bands.

    On the other hand, amps and cabs still have plenty of room in the industry.
    I personally use an Egnater Renegade/Splawn 2×12 live for my amp. I play in a post-hardcore/metal band like Trenches or Rosetta. I know for a fact I couldn’t get the sound I want out of an Axe FX.

    I have been on both sides of the debate for years now, and have been lucky enough to try both. At my church that hosts local metal bands and the typical praise and worship, the Axe FX/POD route is perfect. My church has a row of 18″ ISP woofers, two 2×12/2×15 ISP overhead cabs, and two 4×12 ISP sizzlers on either side of the stage, plus in ear monitoring. This PA set up is GREAT, and running modelers direct works out great. At my church we just started running an Axe FX for the lead guitarist. The rhythm guitarists uses a POD X3 Live, and the back up is a VOX Tonelab. All three sound great.

    When my band plays at a rented out VFW hall though, nothing beats my Egnater stack as far as burly sound and overall air pushing.

    Fact of the matter is, one does not replace another. The Axe FX is great if you have a good PA, but nothing is better than a cranked stack creating all of those amazing tube harmonics and gain.

  • Adilson

    I admit that, while this goes contrary of everything i believe in terms of sounds and the signature of the signal guitarrists are producing, it really looks like the future, and specially all the Pros you get from this kind of setting looks like a very good option. Maybe combinations of amps and cabs would be something to go after in the studio to have a more ‘organic’ sound, but on live situations, where is very difficult to ‘hear’ some difference, things like ax fx are the way to go…
    Thanks for the class Misha!

  • Butters

    I know that the Periphery tone can sound pretty mechanical and like it’s lacking some presence but Bulb had explained the main benefit for him of this particular tone. He explained in a video lesson type thing somewhere that he uses odd and complex chords based on piano chords which he then taps around using the chord shape as the root notes for the tapping. The tone he uses sounds off all the constituent notes of the chords with great clarity and allows the legato notes to ring through the rest of the chord, which is pretty difficult to achieve through typical metal tone. There may well be different ways to achieve this but if it works for him, so be it. Personally, I like Periphery’s tone. But I’ve seen a few people on this page actually bashing the band musically and stylistically just because of the amp tone, which is one of the most asinine arguments for disliking a band I’ve ever heard.

    • monkeyspunk

      All you people praising one amp over another are petarded, this is 2010 for fucks sake. Any and everything you can come up with to get what you want out of a guitar or an amplifier or whatever is fine as long as you(the one creating it)like it. Opinions opinions,,,smells like butthole. I myself use pretty much all digital equipment . Line 6, digitech what have you, And i’ve somehow managed to get some pretty sweet fucking tones out of them(Both clean and dirty) lots of sweet tones actually. I want every piece of equipment I could get my hands on, So more power to any artist putting his or her balls on the block for all yo judgmental little bitches to try and choke on. Yay periphery.

  • stblro

    I think a lot of people here have already touched on this, but music isn’t about pleasing everyone… Periphery’s music and sound is Periphery’s creation and they should do what they like. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have your opinions, but it’s not their job to do every little thing exactly how some guy on the internet thinks.. If something works for Misha, then he should do that because that’s what makes him happy. If you like the sound of a real tube amp then use that. You can’t control what other people do, so just do what makes you happy and let other things be :)