[kmanick]

Strapping Young Lad is using on "Alien" or "the New black"
I've watched the Download concert and their live sound is great too.
I see mesa's on stage but is it their usual rigs or gear for the show?

[Drew]

I'm not 100% sure what he's using these days, but around the time Devin cut "Alien," he'd dropped his usual 5150 (his go-to amp for basically everything pre-Alien) for a modded Dual Rectifier for rhythm tracks, and was using an amp switcher live to switch to the 5150 whenever he took a solo.

His rationale was that the 5150 was more "full frequency" than the DR, to his ears, but the DR was cut in all the frequencies he wouldn't want for a rhythm tone anyway, and fit into the mix where he wanted it to. The 5150 was the more expansive sounding "high fidelity" amp for soloing, so he kept using that.

his words, approximately, not mine. This was right around Alien, but if he's anything like every other guitarist I know, the tendency when you start changing a rig that has been unchanged for years is that once you change one aspect, you tend to go all out and change everything else. So who knows...

[kmanick]

cool,
thanks Drew, I've been getting a good close sound with my 5150 so that makes sense.

[Loomer]

I've got a hunch that the Roland GP100 is a big part of his sound...

And that's the only thing I can say about that :S

[eleven59]

Originally Posted by Drew

I'm not 100% sure what he's using these days, but around the time Devin cut "Alien," he'd dropped his usual 5150 (his go-to amp for basically everything pre-Alien) for a modded Dual Rectifier for rhythm tracks, and was using an amp switcher live to switch to the 5150 whenever he took a solo.

His rationale was that the 5150 was more "full frequency" than the DR, to his ears, but the DR was cut in all the frequencies he wouldn't want for a rhythm tone anyway, and fit into the mix where he wanted it to. The 5150 was the more expansive sounding "high fidelity" amp for soloing, so he kept using that.

his words, approximately, not mine. This was right around Alien, but if he's anything like every other guitarist I know, the tendency when you start changing a rig that has been unchanged for years is that once you change one aspect, you tend to go all out and change everything else. So who knows...

Actually that was after Alien, around the time of the tour with DTB for Synchestra. In studio for Alien and Synchestra he was using the 5150 still (seen on Synchestra DVD and on old "Making of" site for Alien). When I saw him live he had a Mesa head and a Mesa 4x12 and 2x12 (I think), no 5150 in sight (and it was on a small stage with all of Opeth's gear already set up so there wasn't much room for hiding amp heads). He might still be using the 5150 in studio (probably is, at the very least blended with the Mesa) but live he seems to be 100% Mesa as far as I can tell. His pedal board (from what I could see and can remember) had something to boost the signal though (either a Tubescreamer or DS-1, not sure which, think it was the DS-1) alongside his wah (I want to say Bad Horsie, but don't quote me on that) and some other pedals (definitely heard a delay on all lead stuff). His tone was godly though, and I was standing right in front of his amp hearing it directly.

[kmanick]

their live sound here is amazing
http://www.downloadfestival.tv/mofo/watch/450/

Devin is awesome............

[Splinterhead]

Originally Posted by kmanick

their live sound here is amazing
http://www.downloadfestival.tv/mofo/watch/450/

Devin is awesome............

fucking indeed.
I'm surprised he didn't have a stroke

[noodles]

Originally Posted by eleven59

When I saw him live he had a Mesa head and a Mesa 4x12 and 2x12 (I think), no 5150 in sight (and it was on a small stage with all of Opeth's gear already set up so there wasn't much room for hiding amp heads).

As I suspected, it is the same rig he is using with the Devin Townsend Band.

[DSS3]

Alright, here we go...

Alien was a 5150, Dev has said this.

On Synchestra, he switched to a 3ch Dual Recto with EL34's and a Maxon OD808 infront. He uses the Orange channel.

The setup is the same for The New Black.

Originally Posted by eleven59

In studio for Alien and Synchestra he was using the 5150 still (seen on Synchestra DVD

True for Alien, but if you notice, the 5150 was only used with the Marshall cab for the drum tracking - They all jam in the room, with cab's in iso rooms, so they don't get any bleed.

The other guitarist posted on their forum that it was the 2ch dual, OD808, and Mesa 4x12 used for the final recorded tone.

[Variant]

Originally Posted by DSS3

Alright, here we go...

Alien was a 5150, Dev has said this.

On Synchestra, he switched to a 3ch Dual Recto with EL34's and a Maxon OD808 infront. He uses the Orange channel.

The setup is the same for The New Black.




True for Alien, but if you notice, the 5150 was only used with the Marshall cab for the drum tracking - They all jam in the room, with cab's in iso rooms, so they don't get any bleed.

The other guitarist posted on their forum that it was the 2ch dual, OD808, and Mesa 4x12 used for the final recorded tone.

Yup, and I'll be openly say that 5150+ > Dual Recto. While the guitar sound is more focused and clear now, it's lost that overbearing wall-of-noise cut that I've come to expect from Devy. Alien was VERY well produced and the drums and bass come in to fill the dynamic range pretty well, but Synchestra and The New Black just have the spoingy chug-a-lug tone that everyone has right now.

I used to love Mesa's, but at some point in the late 1990's / early 2000's they lost all their grind 'n' growl... in an attempt to make them work better with the ubiquitous low tunings of today I assume. They're loud, punchy, well defined... and I'd say TOO tight sounding. Listen to an open B on Synchestra or other late model Dual Rectumfryer, and one on King's X's 'Dog Man' or Dream Theater's 'Awake' and tell me they haven't changed.