All Them Witches at War Memorial Auditorium, 12/31/2015
Ever wonder just how the hell All Them Witches make the sounds that fill their two sublimely heavy records (Lightning at the Door and Dying Surfer Meets His Maker) and rattle foundations for blocks every time they play in town? Just before the band embarked on its European tour, Premier Guitar dropped by ATW's rehearsal room at Soundcheck and filmed an episode of their Rig Rundown video series.Â
Before your eyes roll back in your head, hear me out: This one's not just for the gearheads in the audience. More than just a laundry list of model numbers and specifications, guitarist Ben McLeod, bassist Michael Parks Jr. and keyboardist Allan Van Cleave tell the stories behind their distinctive conglomeration of equipment, giving some fascinating insight into the intimate relationship between player and instrument. (Since it's a guitar mag, drummer Robby Staebler is unfortunately left out. Van Cleave's very guitar-like rig is the first keyboard setup to be featured in the series, according to host Chris Kies.)
And there's plenty of trivia, too. Where did McLeod get that unusual slide guitar? Why does Van Cleave tote a Fender Rhodes piano that weighs as much as a small adult human when he could ostensibly get away with a (much lighter) digital equivalent? What's the deal with Parks' "stupid, stupid bass?" Check it all out after the jump.
Article and photos: http://bit.ly/AllThemWitchesRR
PG’s Chris Kies hung out with Ben McLeod, Charles Michael Parks, Jr, and Allan Van Cleave of the All Them Witches at Soundcheck Rehearsal Studios before they ventured on their biggest European tour to date.
Guitarist Ben McLeod travels light and lean when the band tours. He only brings two guitars and neither one of them are backups for the other. His main squeeze is a Les Paul Traditional that he’s modded by replacing the plastic nut with one made of bone—he says it not only helps intonation but gives the guitar a silkier sound—and swapped out the LP’s stock Classic ’57 for a DiMarzio Super Distortion. He landed on that particular pickup after dressing up as The Sword’s guitarist Kyle Shutt for a Halloween show and used Kyle’s guitar. He was so impressed with it that after the show Kyle’s tech gave Ben a spare Super Distortion for his Traditional. And one last aesthetic tweak to his guitar was the removal of its pickguard because he is such a big fan of Duane Allman and he didn’t feel like covering up the full burst anymore.
This particular 6-string uses a set of DR Strings Pure Blues .010–.046s and is typically tuned to drop C.
Bassist Charles Michael Parks, Jr uses an amputated 1972 Rickenbacker 4001 for most of the night. The guy he bought it from was left-handed and so he had chopped off the upper bout, slashed off some of the headstock, and flipped it around to play lefty. So Parks got the bass super cheap and had set it back up to play right-hand, reworked the electronics, shaved the bridge and moved it back, and then outfitted it for the proper stereo jack. And it usually has D’Addario Half Round .050–.105 strings on it.
To continue reading about the band's gear, visit: http://bit.ly/AllThemWitchesRR
