Converge Rig Rundown Guitar Gear Tour with Kurt Ballou & Nate Newton
Full Rig Details: https://bit.ly/ConvergeRR
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Kurt Ballou takes tone very seriously. He’s been on the leading edge of aggressive guitar sounds since 1990 and Converge’s fourth album, 2001’s Jane Doe, is still seen as a game-changing release with its ferocious performance and masterful production. His sonic temple God City Studio is the destination for artists looking to make their rawest, heaviest, brutalist work. Ballou has even developed a gear brand (God City Instruments) that includes guitars, pedals, and pickups all in the pursuit of turning ideas into art.
During our conversation before Converge’s sold-out performance at Nashville’s Basement East on May 22nd, Ballou dove into his Line 6 Helix spice rack and shared how 30 plus years as a guitarist and in-demand producer have informed his guitar-design philosophy. Plus, he detailed why his goal is to get to a place where “gear doesn’t matter.” And then longtime bassist Nate Newton joined the fun by showing off his “Riffblaster” setup and how a special P bass helps him honor a dear friend.
Shop the Rig:
Quilter Labs Overdrive 202 200-watt Head: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/MmNzBN
Line 6 Helix Guitar Multi-effects Floor Processor: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Qy6Lnz
Fender American Professional II Precision Bass V: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/5g7EZD
Orange AD200B MK 3 200-watt Bass Head: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/vNZk0L
DOD Rubberneck Analog Delay Pedal with Tap Tempo: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Y9yPjr
Dunlop CBM105Q Cry Baby Mini Bass Wah Pedal: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/m52qrO
TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Polyphonic LED Guitar Tuner Pedal with Buffer: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/k0oEQV
Full Rig Details: https://bit.ly/ConvergeRR
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[Brought to you by D’Addario String Finder: https://www.daddario.com/StringFinderRR]
00:00 – D’Addario String Finder
00:15 – Kurt Ballou Playing Intro
00:45 – Kurt Ballou & Chris Kies Intro
01:14 – God City Instruments Constructivist & GCI Soap Jammer Humbuckers
04:19 – Kurt Ballou’s String and Pick Preferences
05:10 – Kurt Ballou’s Guitar Gear Design Philosophy
07:05 – God City Instruments Craftsman
09:40 – Kurt Ballou on Using a Line 6 Helix
12:26 – Kurt Ballou on Organizing Helix Workflow
14:19 – Breaking Down Kurt Ballou’s Converge “Kvrt Preset V6”
18:26 – Kurt Ballou’s Line 6 Helix Amp Models & Quilter Overdrive 202 heads
19:57 – Getting to a Point Where “Gear Doesn’t Matter”
21:40 – Bad Cat 4x12s & Speakers
24:19 – Kurt Ballou’s Helix Channel 2 Settings
26:00 – Kurt Ballou’s Pet Peeves on the Helix
28:05 – More of Kurt Ballou’s Helix Channel 2 Settings
29:13 – Kurt Ballou’s In-Ear Monitor Blend
30:18 – Nate Newton’s Fender P Bass & Signature Lace Riffblaster Pickups
32:30 – Why Nate Newton Chose P over J Bass & Joining Converge
35:25 – Nate Newton on Touring with Cave In
36:31 – Nate Newton’s Orange AD 200 Bass MK3
37:55 – Nate Newton’s Pedalboard
44:45 – Playing Caleb Scofield’s P Bass in Cave In
46:00 – Converge Performs “Axe to Fall” & “You Fail Me”
#guitar #rigrundown #converge #hardcore #kurtballou
#Converge #Rig #Rundown #Guitar #Gear #Tour #Kurt #Ballou #Nate #Newton
Originally posted by UC5J-hZ4wNf7OlkzIn49LHoQ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klcobrLXV1Y
Full Rig Details: https://bit.ly/ConvergeRR
Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTube
Win Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/GiveawaysPG
Don't Miss a Rundown: http://bit.ly/RIgRundownENL
Merch & Magazines: https://shop.premierguitar.com
Kudos to Nate for correctly calling out the futile 'clean blend' nonsense found on almost all sub-par bass OD/Dist pedals. Always, always, always sounds like boring disjointed garbage: a bland clean parallel with a bland, fluzzy bass gain signal. They all sound like they're tailored for corny studio bassists or worship doinks — who are clueless about thunderous, chunky high gain bass tone.
Kurt looks and talks like he's explaining his new birding setup.
The darkest guitar players shred the hardest
Gonna have to try out a quilter on my 80s road ready boogie 2×15. Cheers bro
HAHAHAHAH Nate waiting his turn patiently in the back ????????????????????????????
25:14
at 10:59 Stefanie Mannaerts from BRUTUS 🙂
That part about Nate using Caleb's bass brought me to tears. As a former touring bassist, Caleb and Nate's style were huge influences on my writing and playing. That's so sweet he keeps him that close.
I'm just here to watch Nate eat a banana.
What a touching moment when Nate took out Calebs bass… RIP
I listen to a lot of music. This dude might be one of the best hardcore guitarists of all time. Very creative, incredible technique. Does some genre blending stuff.
Kurt knows his shit, a true passionate gear nerd. He's incredible
Worst vocalist ever.
Perry had to of been pissed that he didn't get to do this one.
I had this Crate amp that I had for 20+ years. Not sure on the model, but it was all transistor, but with two tubes working the pre amp. It had an effects loop that I never used. I tried hooking my Big Muff to the effects loop to see if I turned the loop blend knob down, could I get muff dirty with no hum. It didn't work, but I accidentally left it set up and realized I had more power and beef to my tone. So I just used a six inch cable that went from effects out to effects in. It kept that amazing tone! I used it forever and it became my sound. Unfortunately I would notice some heat building up above the Fx loop. Nothing too hit. But less than a year of that and the amp kicked the bucket. After years of use and abuse, it decided to die onstage at my then bands last show. Anyway, now after all that, I was wondering if anyone knew what was happening? Such an odd thing to occur. But after hearing about this Quilter, maybe it was a happy accident. Not sure, but happy to share the story and ask for any info on why this happend. Thanks!!!
Do a shot every time Kurt pronounces D’Addario properly.
Nate, why so mean towards yourself? 🙁
Banana!
Did anyone else notice he holds his pick with this middle finger and thumb? 17:10
Not a huge fan of having the security at the front facing the crowd. I know it's kind of common, but I feel like this is the first time I've seen it at a venue like this one.