Daniel’ s Backline
Daniel,“ The” James Duke, & Matt Podesla
I don’ t sound like them when I play through their stuff!
It’ s one of the weirdest mysteries of life to me, the way that your hands can sound so different from someone else’ s. I do try to keep it very simple. Over the years, especially with worship, I’ ve learned that the more stuff I have at my disposal the more distracted I get. I’ ll go,“ Oh, maybe I’ ll try that other overdrive pedal on the next song to see if it sounds better.” If I have five overdrive pedals on my board I might be tempted to do that. The times I’ ve felt the most inspired are times when I have limited my options pedal wise. Then I’ m forced to play more melodically or with the band.
So my advice to young guitarists? I have spent way too much money buying a hundred different overdrive pedals that all are basically doing just a couple different things. One of my favorite guitar players might plug into a little simple Boss pedal or something and get a great sound because he’ s learned that he
doesn’ t need a $ 500 hand-wired overdrive to make a good sound. You don’ t have to spend a ton of money to get a great sound.
I’ ll see young guys and I’ ll see their rig and I’ ll go,“ Oh my gosh your rig costs like $ 5,000, how on earth are you paying for this?!” And that’ s fine, musicians get into gear and I’ m guilty as much as the next guy. And it’ s not bad to invest in good gear. But, if you’ re young and you see other musicians and think you can’ t sound like them because you don’ t have an original Klon, an old’ 60s AC30, or whatever, you don’ t need all that.
I’ d honestly be really happy with what I have for the rest of my life. I’ ve been playing the same amp for seventeen years, which is an AC30 reissue with Celestion Blue speakers, the English-made one. That’ s kind of my favorite style of amp, the British AC-30. I also play a Matchless, which is voiced very similarly.
I always come back to Les Paul and Tele, kind
Daniel Holding the New Full-Drive 1
of my first loves. So for a simple setup it’ s basically a Les Paul or Tele into a‘ TS-style’( Tube Screamer) pedal. For most of my life that’ s been a Fulltone Full-Drive, which I love. It has boost and you have a couple different options in the pedal as well. It’ s just been one of those pedals that I could tour with all year and have that as my only gain option. I like to turn the amps up, hit them with that pedal, and I’ ve got everything I need. There are a lot of pedals that do that same thing well, that’ s just the one that I use. You can get them used for a hundred bucks or something. It’ s a killer pedal – you could tour your whole life with just that one pedal.
After that I always have a digital delay of some kind that I can tap the tempo in. For years that was a Boss DD-5 that I couldn’ t have lived without for the last eighteen years of touring. It’ s basically always on my pedal board. I’ ve tried many other delay pedals. Now that you can program the beats per minute into the pedal, whenever that came along,’ 04 or’ 05,
Meat and Potatoes Pedalboard
Meat and Potatoes Guitars
44 August 2018 WorshipMusician. com