GUITAR
WHAT ’ S WORKING FOR ME RIGHT NOW | Chris Rocha
It can be difficult for a guitarist to not get overwhelmed with the unlimited choices of gear out there . As guitar players , we need to make a decision on what works for us and maximize that . I would like to introduce to you what guitar gear is working for me right now .
About seven or eight years back I was all about the full analog setup . Analog pedals and tube amps was all I wanted and all I ever used . I loved that world but I was forced to find a way to exit out of tube amps because I had to find a way to record guitar tracks in hotel rooms while on tour .
I ’ ve been producing records for about 22 years now and I love that I was able to build that business from the ground up , so when I was offered to tour with an amazing band all year round I had to modify my rig . I had to find a way to produce , record guitar tracks and tour at the same time , so I built a hybrid rig that works for me . My current setup is :
1st stage drive : El Valiente 2nd stage drive : Lovepedal Kanji overdrive pedal Amp pedal : Simplifier IR cab simulator / Delay : HX Stomp Reverb : GFI Specular Tempus Foot Controller : DPC 5 from Disaster Area
Now let ’ s dive in so that I can explain why I use this particular setup .
Let ’ s get into drives . The first stage drive I use is called “ El Valiente ”. It ’ s an overdrive pedal that I designed along with a team of engineer / guitar players from Costa Rica called Little Endian . It ' s a circuit based on the legendary Marshall blues breaker but with a significant gain increase . It also features two different modes that allows you to choose between a more open and bright sound or a more compressed tone . It works perfect for what I want this pedal to do .
What is giving me the beef I need for my 2nd stage drive is the Kanji Overdrive from Lovepedal . I rarely use this pedal alone . I always combine it with the Valiente to get the dynamic I need .
I love that we live in a time where we can find amps in pedals that fit on our board . The owner from Humboldt Pedals has become a friend of mine and sent me this amp pedal he designed called “ Simplifier ”. It has 3 different amp preamps and cabinet simulators on it . It gives me that nice tube sound I need .
For my cabinet simulation I went with IRs . I tried them out a while back and fell in love with them . I loaded a couple from Orange in my HX Stomp . I also use my HX for delays . It can do so many different things which is why it ’ s gonna be very hard to take it off my board . My go to delay is the ping pong .
Another company that I fell in love with is GFI System . Everything they make is quality . Last year they put out a reverb / delay pedal called
Specular Tempus . As soon as I started to dive into the sounds I was blown away . I immediately took off my BigSky and replaced it with the Specular .
The foot controller that does what I want is the DPC 5 from Disaster Area . I like that it ’ s also a MIDI controller so I can control my HX Stomp and Specular Tempus with it . I don ’ t really use this pedal to its full potential because I simplify my setup as much as possible .
I encourage you all to look into these pedals because I truly love everything on my board right now . On top of that I run my signal straight into a DI box for live and in the studio I go straight into my interface . I ’ m sure at some point I ’ ll go back to tube amps because let ’ s face it … us guitar players never stick with the same thing for too long . But for now , I ’ m good with this .
Chris Rocha Lives in Houston , TX , and is the guitarist and producer for Miel San Marcos